Spanish Prisoners in Mauthausen-Gusen: Deportation & Survival
Spanish Deportees to Mauthausen
Initially, Spain was unaware of the large number of compatriots deported who died in these Austrian facilities by 1945. According to recent research, there were more than 7,000 Spanish victims, most of them in the Gusen camp, five miles from Mauthausen. The journey was long and arduous for all of them.
In the Stalags (prisoner-of-war camps), distributed throughout the territories occupied by the Third Reich, specific laws applied to prisoners of war, allowing many Spanish prisoners to write to their families, believing their next step would be deportation back to Spain. However, Germany had other plans, and the Gestapo began identifying prisoners to be sent to the death camps. Data suggests that 10,000 Spaniards entered Mauthausen, and it is documented that 4,000 Spaniards died in Gusen in 1941 alone.
Additionally, Czech researcher Sandra Benito Bermejo documented the names and surnames of 8,700 Spaniards in the ‘Book of Remembrance’, although recent research led by historian Alfons Aragoneses has identified 450 additional victims. From the province of Toledo, it was initially believed that 189 people were deported; however, documents from German archives have revealed over a hundred more names, who were previously unknown due to deportations directly from the Stalags.
The authors of a volume published by the Ministry of Culture accounted for nearly 300 deportees from Toledo, mostly to Mauthausen and Gusen, with others transferred to Buchenwald, Dachau, Aurigny, and Neuengamme (though cases for the latter two were few). From Recas, only the name of Ramón Bargueño was initially known, but the list now includes 22 deportees from Toledo city, 10 each from Talavera de la Reina and Menasalbas, 7 from Madridejos, and several from Polán.
Resistance and Liberation
A number of Spaniards participated in the Mauthausen resistance. They organized to get news from abroad, planned escapes, helped other deportees, and even attempted to seize arms for an internal uprising, which was quickly suppressed.
As Allied forces advanced into Germany, the Nazis evacuated camps closest to the front lines, preventing the liberation of many prisoners. In early 1945, transports of evacuees began arriving at Mauthausen, especially from Auschwitz, Sachsenhausen, and Gross-Rosen. The camp became increasingly overcrowded, further worsening the already dire living conditions. Many prisoners died of starvation or disease. Typhus epidemics further reduced the camp population.
The KLM (Komando Mauthausen Liberation) confirmed the news of liberation when the first Allied tank was spotted near the camp gates on May 5, 1945. Despite their weakness, a group of Spaniards created a Republican flag to greet the Allied forces. They inscribed ‘Spanish Republic’ in large letters, the name associated with the resistance, followed by the names and camp identification numbers of some Spaniards. Ramón Bargueño (3183) was listed fifth among eight members who wished to testify that they had survived.
An estimated 199,400 prisoners passed through Mauthausen between 1938 and May 1945. Of these, it is believed that approximately 119,000 died at Mauthausen and its subcamps. A third of the victims were Jewish. American forces liberated Mauthausen on May 5, 1945.
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